Camp helps Brandon deal with a difficult childhood

When Brandon camp to camp in 2003, he was
a violent and angry boy. Adopted as a one year old, he lived with his adoptive
father and stepmother after his parents separated. At age 9, his father died
suddenly. He then went to live with his adoptive mother.

Feelings of abandonment and rejection
overwhelmed his young heart. He began to act out by fighting, cursing, skipping
school and partying. He attempted to stab his step mother, set their house on
fire and ran away numerous times. After being suspended from school, his mother
was at her wits end.

A social worker informed them of Fair Play
and they got in contact with a family worker. After visiting camp, he knew that
was the place for him. He loved the outdoors and recognized that something had
to change before ending up in jail.

At camp he learned how to express grief in
a totally different manner rather than acting out. Together as a group, he with
the other campers learned how to help each other express their feelings in a
productive way. “The more I attempted to help others with their problems,”
Brendon recalls, “the more I experience healing for myself. I learned to think
about others more than myself. We suffered together as a group.”

One of the first things we learned at camp
was the importance of solving problems. “We would circle up, and talk about the
problem until it was solved. We learned to not run from our problems but to
face them head-on. These problem solving skills helped to prepare us for our
future.”

Chief Kevin remembers that Brandon arrived
at camp soon after he started as chief. “As Brandon and I were both new at this
camp thing, we bonded pretty quickly,” he recalls. “I remember many nights,
when after the group was in bed, that we would talk. I would sit on his
footlocker as he shared about the difficult things in his life.”

“Brandon allowed me and camp staff to walk
his journey with him.” Kevin continues. “It was a joy to watch as he learned
how to play guitar, solve problems, work together with his group and summit to
authority. Obviously there were many difficult times, but he continued to grow
into a man. He became a close friend with my wife Sheree and I and has stayed
in touch over the years.”

“Camp is the first place I really felt
accepted and loved,” Brandon remarks. “Every night the Chiefs would tuck us in
and tell us they loved us – no matter how bad we had been that day. We were a
rough group, but they stuck with us. There is not a day that goes by that I
don’t think about camp. I still stay in regular contact with some of the other
guys. Fair Play is located in a beautiful area but it’s the people that make
camp – not the land!”

Camp helped Brandon to be a father to his
son and step daughter. He is a skilled carpenter and construction worker.
“Thank you for helping me to get my life on track!” Brandon concludes. “If it
had not been for Fair Play, I would either be in jail or dead!”

Posted in

About Fair Play Camp School

Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in South Carolina, Fair Play Camp School, Inc become a wilderness sanctuary for many boys since its beginning in 1980. We work with adolescent and teen boys who are experiencing behavioral or emotional problems and who agree to placement because they have a desire to change.